Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Photovoltaic (PV) modules are typically configured to produce electricity most efficiently from direct sunlight. Mounting hardware for PV modules has been designed to reliably mount and expose PV modules to direct sunlight by attaching them to unobstructed buildings, vehicles, or structures. While there have been a number of recent developments in the field of building integrated PV systems, there are still issues with their installation, such as ease of orientation issues, PV module alignment issues, ventilation issues, servicing issues, and inability to work well in retrofit applications.
Numerous systems have been devised to mitigate these issues, but most have resulted in costly and cumbersome mounting hardware. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,018 ('018) to Shingleton. The '018 patent discloses a solar collector array formed of a plurality of solar panels mounted on a frame made of support beams which may be sheet metal channel members. A butyl tape or other glazing material is applied between the back laminate of the solar panel and the beam. Clips are used to clamp the panels to the support beams. The clips have an upper portion that is generally T-shaped in profile, and a retainer in the form of a channel nut or bar, with a threaded hole that receives a bolt or similar threaded fastener. The retainer biases against the inwardly directed flanges of the channel support beam. Electrical wires and mechanical fasteners are concealed within the support beams.
Therefore, a definite need exists for a simple, cost-effective, attachment apparatus which provides the ability to secure panels to different substrates while providing ease of installation, orientation, and removal from the substrates.